Macau recorded this year’s first imported case of Zika fever yesterday, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement last night.
According to the statement, the patient is a 53-year-old local man who lives in Block 5 of the Kuong Wa San Chun (廣華新邨) residential estate in Areia Preta district. His workplace is located on the nearby Estrada de D. Maria II, i.e., the road where the CEM headquarters is located.
The man visited Malaysia with his family members between December 20 and Tuesday last week. After returning to Macau, the statement said, he came down with a fever, muscle pain, and a rash on Friday last week.
As his symptoms persisted, the statement said, the man sought treatment at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Monday.
A blood test yesterday confirmed him to be infected with Zika virus.
Last night’s statement said that the man was in a stable condition. However, the statement failed to mention whether he has been hospitalised.
The statement underlined that the Macau Health Bureau has classified the man’s case as a Zika case imported into Macau after considering his travel history and the time of the onset of his symptoms, as well as its laboratory test results.
In response to the patient’s case, the bureau has dispatched personnel to the vicinity of his main activity areas in the city to conduct inspections for mosquito breeding sources and carry out preventive mosquito eradication operations.
The case reported yesterday came after Macau confirmed its first-ever imported Zika case last year, a case imported from the Philippines in September 2025.
According to last night’s statement, the Zika virus is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It can also be spread through sexual contact, blood transfusion, and from mother to foetus during pregnancy.
The statement also underlined that most infected individuals do not show obvious symptoms. Common symptoms, when they occur, include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and headache, with the level of the symptoms normally being mild.
The statement noted that Zika virus disease is primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Currently, the statement said, no Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been detected in Macau. The mosquito species commonly found in Macau is the Aedes albopictus, which can transmit dengue fever and chikungunya fever.
Consequently, the statement said, the risk of sustained local transmission of Zika virus caused by the man’s case detected yesterday is expected to remain low.
Details in English about Zika can be found at: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/healthtopics/content/24/43088.html
While a Zika virus infection is typically mild for most people, it can be lethal, but this is rare and primarily affects specific, vulnerable groups, such as newborns.
Image courtesy of unicef HK
